Simon Fraser University

PDFTron Systems Inc. specializes in PDF, SVG, XPS and other graphics technologies. As a leading global provider of cross-platform, high-performance products, it has helped customers worldwide from different disciplines. Based on the success of its product – PDFNet SDK on desktops, PDFTron is motivated to expand their technology to a fast-growing market – hand-held touch screen devices. But with limited CPU and display surfaces of tables, new challenges emerge to minimize lag, flicker, and other viewing artifacts. PDFTron has developed a tiling-algorithm to address some of these issues.

In this internship we aim to develop an analytics system that targets quick conversion of game data to knowledge that allows game designers to quickly grasp the sources of engagement and disengagement of users while interacting with video games. This proposed system can benefit Blackbird Interactive Inc. by providing a method to tune their designs based on a deeper understanding of their players.

In this research we propose to carry out a feasibility study to identify an ultrasound transducer that can be used specifically for breast cancer tumor detection. This transducer will be interfaced with the available Ultrasonix Elastrography System at SFU. This will be the most significant part of the proposed research. It will include assimilation of the transducer with the ultrasound machine along with data capturing and analysis. Fast algorithms are necessary in this kind of imaging. Strains between frames are small, thus the sensitivity of the algorithms is also very important.

There is a growing demand to conserve energy at the load side using smart lighting systems in the buildings, warehouses, and other facilities. In a smart lighting system each of the electrical devices (e.g. sensors, lights, actuator, appliances, etc.) is regarded as a wireless node capable of communicating with other nodes through an available wireless technology. The proposed R&D activity targets at developing a gateway device which is an important component of a Bluetooth enabled lighting system which uses the BLE technology for internetwork communication between different nodes.

A Place to Reflect and For Every Second in Time are a pair of interactive art installations that will make use of projection technology and interactivity. A Place to Reflect will debut at Nuit Blanche contemporary arts festival in Toronto and For Every Second in Time is slated for Toronto in 2012.

Cascade Aerospace has developed an industry leading competency around the C-130 military transport aircraft through their relationship with the Canadian Air Force. They would like to market these service support skills, modification competencies, and refurbished aircraft to foreign militaries. Cascade does not currently possess a working plan or model to accomplish the difficult task of determining who their potential customers will be.

Traditional silicon-based solar cells are harmful to the environment and costly to manufacture. Polymer-based (organic) solar cells on the other hand are thinner and more flexible electronic devices that are economically sustainable and have high cost saving potential due to the printable nature of their manufacturing process. This project involves cost estimation and analysis of different processing steps that the partnering company may pursue for low to medium volume manufacture of its organic solar cells.